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1 






ALBERT AINLEY 





Weave Room Management 



A BOOK of Instruction Information 
and Advice for the Coming Generation of 
Overseers of Weaving and for all who are 
Interested in the Subject it it it it 



ALBERT AINLEY 



1910 



MAPLEVILLE, RHODE ISLAND 



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A^ .\^^ 



COPYRIGHT 1910 

-BY- 
ALBERT AINLEY 




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C CI.A2?S234 



CONTENTS 





Page 


The Management of a Weave Room 


8 


The Loomfixers .... 


14 


The Warpstarter .... 


16 


The Weavers ..... 


23 


FilHng Carrying .... 


28 


The Percher ..... 


30 


Keeping the Rooms Clean 


31 


Before the High Court in the Finishing Room 


33 


Starting In at a New Place 


39 


Stimulating an Interest in the Production 


42 


Other ways of Helping the Production 


45 


Chain Drafting . . . > . 


48 


Clerical Work . 


5J 


.Looking Out for Supplies 


53 


Yam Calculations etc. .... 


55 



PREFACE 

Knowledge gained by the experience of others 
and put into practice by one's own exertions 
develops the brain. 

A man cannot gain sufficient knowledge by his 
own experience alone ; he must gain some of it 
from other sources if he intends to keep in the 
procession near enough to hear the band play. 

The coming generation of overseers will need 
all the technical education available in their line 
of work in order to climb the ladder of success. 
Some of the present generation are sadly in need 
of it. Did you, as an intelligent weaver or loom- 
fixer, ever have to work for an overseer who was 
deficient in intellect, thick headed, of poor judg- 
ment and afraid to take a step outside of the 
beaten track, no matter how much laborious work 
he might save by cutting across ; did you ? Then 
you will appreciate the efforts herein made 
towards his education or eradication. 

But it was another and a brighter thought 
which inspired the writing of this book. It was 
a realization of the fact that those best adapted 
to hold a responsible position are most anxious to 
gain all the knowledge and information they can ; 
the better to enable them to fill it not only to the 



PREFACE 

best advantage to themselves, but to the satisfac- 
tion of those for whom and to whom they are 
responsible. 

That those best adapted to fill such positions 
may find the necessary knowledge and advice 
available was the inspiration of 

THE AUTHOR. 




THE MANAGEMENT OF A WEAVE 
ROOM 

The work of a boss weaver is purely and 
simply the management of the weave room in 
such a way that the material which comes into 
it will be made into cloth of the desired pattern 
and specifications with not more than a reasonable 
amount of defects ; and enough of it to compare 
favorably with the amount of machinery and 
general expense involved ; his efficiency is rated 
according to the comparison of these points. 

The qualifications of a boss weaver are alto- 
gether different from those of a loomfixer, for, 
while the loomfixer's most necessary qualifica- 
tions are patience, perseverance and a good 
knowledge of loomology, the overseer to be thor- 
oughly efficient must, in addition to these things 
just mentioned, be a good organizer of forces, a 
good manager of help, have a great amount of 
tact, have the ability to keep up the efficiency of 
every branch of his department as well as to build 
it up in the first place ; to know a good deal of 
human nature, be conversant with every detail of 
his department, but, above all, be a man of good 
judgment. It is not enough to be able to hand in, 
drawing, build chains, carry filling, run a winder,, 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 9 

be a good weaver, a good loomfixer, and i 
Dercher ; if your judgment is poor your organiza- 
tion will be poor, its efficiency will be poor, your 
production will be poor both in quality and 
amount. I regret to have to say, however, that 
there are far too many people holding such posi- 
tions who are hardly able to fill them to even good 
advantage ; they reflect unfavorably on the judg- 
ment of the superintendent and often result in 
strikes, hardships and failure. 

A knowledge of designing, cloth construction, 
etc., is hardly necessary further than to know 
that, in cases of combination weaves, some 
threads of which have more work to do than 
others, the position of certain harnesses may be 
changed ; that is to say that, supposing the threads 
on the last harness or last two harnesses, etc., go 
worse than the others, the drafts can be so 
changed over as to put this particular weave on 
the front or the middle or some other place with 
the idea of humoring them somewhat. This, of 
course, the designer will do at the suggestion of 
the overseer of weaving. Thus, whatever design- 
ing it is necessary to know, is usually picked up 
as you go along or as you have gone along 
through the various parts of the business. 

The duties of a boss weaver are to hire such 
help as are competent to do the work required of 
them; such as drawing in, handing in, bobbin 



10 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

winding, chain building, warp starting, weaving, 
loomfixing, perching, filHng, carrying etc., or to 
educate such as he has to do these things. He is 
responsible for their work. If they do it well 
he gets the credit; if they fail, he gets the blame. 
His efficiency, therefore, lies partly in having the 
tact to make everyone do his work well. This, of 
course, in a country where there is such a con- 
glomeration of people as there are here is no 
child's play, but involves a great amount of tact, 
ingenuity and good judgment. However, with a 
good system this is usually fairly well accom- 
plished. 

The production of a weave room depends in a 
great measure on the organization or system 
adopted for taking care of it, independent of the 
purely weaving end of it; and net only this, but 
the overseer's peace of mind depends on it as well. 
To be successful he must have a good system; 
the better the system and organization the better 
will be the production ; the more smoothly it will 
run and the easier will be his lot. If such a thing 
as a perfect organization were possible everything 
would go along like clock work, and there would 
be no trouble at all, but as no one yet has been 
found with brains enough to accomplish this, we 
all have trouble more or less ; they occur in pro- 
portion to the defects of the organization and 
system. Of course, much of the weave room 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 11 

troubles are made in a preceding department and 
cannot be altogether prevented, but a good organi- 
zation will handle them as they come along with 
little trouble to the overseer beyond bringing 
them to his notice in order that he may take steps 
towards preventing them in future. 

Defects of the work as it comes into the weave 
room will bother the overseer in proportion to 
the imperfection of his organization. Some over- 
seers are worked to death ; others do very little 
manual labor. Do you see the point ? 

Now what I have found to be a good system 
is to appoint a man for every regular work and 
hold him responsible for that work; and when I 
hire a man for a particular work, select some one 
whose temperament and physical conditions make 
him suitable for that work. Thus, for instance, I 
want some one to look after the drawing-in part 
of the work; I select a man capable of lifting the 
warps onto the beam truck, one not afraid to dirty 
his hands or his clothes by cleaning harnesses, 
because for a medium-sized mill, say 60 or 70 
looms on fine work, one man can do this work 
comfortably if he knows that what spare time he 
has can be used for his own amusement. Such a 
man can look after the drawers-in just as well as 
a man with a white starched shirt can. I hire 
the man to clean harnesses, put up the warps, etc., 
and he looks on a steady $10 or so a week as 



12 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

fairly satisfactory. But if you hire a man as 
boss of the drawing-in department he would feel 
too big at the start ; he would want a helper to do 
the harness cleaning, and $io a week would look 
far too small. 

By taking a man of average intelligence, used 
to hard work, you can, by good judgment in 
handling, soon bring him up to feel a full respon- 
sibility in his department, so much so that if at 
any time he is short handed and behind hand with 
the warps he will use his best endeavors to get 
whatever drawers-in or handers-in he needs to 
keep up with the work. In order to bring him 
up to this pitch, however, you must make it a 
practice to send applicants for positions to him, 
taking care, of course, to keep yourself posted to 
some extent. Thus this branch of your work 
will, after becoming well organized and system- 
ized, give you little or no concern, though the 
price of your success as manager of the weaving 
department in general is eternal vigilance. There 
will probably be times when you need more 
drawers-in in a hurry; more than you can well 
get hold of, and it will be a problem how to get 
your warps drawn in on time. No matter how 
good your man is, there will be times when he 
will need your assistance. At such times as these, 
however, it is generally advisable to take the best 
of your handers-in and let them draw a few 
warps in. As a general rule there are always 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 13 

enough boys and girls running around the street 
who are old enough to work, and it only takes 
about two hours to teach them how to hand in. 
Usually the drawers-in will find some one to hand 
in for them, some relation or neighbor with whom 
they will have patience enough to bother with 
while learning. 

In harness cleaning, wherever there is a sus- 
picion of the heddles being pretty well worn out, 
they should be carefully inspected and the bad 
ones broken of¥; thus frequent heddle smashes 
will be avoided. 




THE LOOMFIXERS 

These are necessarily the most intelHgent of 
3^our help, and as a general rule are conscientious 
and thoughtful. Their work in general is well 
known and varies only in minor details. A sec- 
tion of looms varies in number according to sys- 
tem and kind of looms and w^ork they are run- 
ning, but usually about 20 Knowles looms make 
a section. In some mills they have fewer looms 
to a section, but the fixer looks the harnesses 
over at the start of the warps. He is also 
responsible for the ring separators being put on 
the chain in the right place at the start of the 
warp, when the chain stuff is old and worn. In 
other mills the chain builder is held responsible 
for this. You, the overseer, w^ill sometimes find 
that you have to ansv/er for a cut full of harness 
skips because the loomfixer, or whoever you held 
responsible, did not ring the chain up properly, 
and right here let me say that, as a general rule, 
especially where boys are used to build chains, I 
am satisfied that it is the best system to hold the 
loomfixer responsible for the ringing up of the 
chain. But whoever you hold responsible for this 
work, be very strenuous in bringing them up to 
do it well, or you will soon have a reputation for 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 15 

turning off defective work. Be particular about 
the adjustments of the take-up and letting of 
motions at the start of every warp, and make it 
a rule not to allow the friction bands to be set in 
the heavy-weight notch of the lever if you can get 
weight enough on in the light-weight notch. Also 
be particular about having the temples set right 
and the heddles divided up right so that there will 
be no streaky goods on that account. 

Do not allow them to let their sections get run 
down in any shape or form ; if you find any one 
of them doing this, do not hesitate to find fault 
with whatever you see is wrong. Show him how 
it should be, courteously, of course, and keep up 
this policy with him until you get him well on to 
the upward tendency again. 




THE WARPSTARTER 

The same policy must be followed with the 
warp starter as with the loomfixer ; as careless- 
ness or the least slackening up at this point will 
surely result in mistakes getting by him. 

As you are aware, he weaves an inch or two 
with a contrasting color of filling to that of the 
warp at the start, in order to better enable him 
to detect any wrong draw that may have been 
made. He should look this over carefully on the 
loom, and again more carefully when the lap is 
woven and the heading cut off. A wrong draw 
will not get by a good warp starter once in a 
thousand times. If, however, his mind is not 
altogether on his work when looking the heading 
over, they will get by him, and often a cut has to 
go as a second on that account. The overseer 
cannot afford to let such things slide by without 
taking steps to prevent a reoccurrence ; he has 
get to say or do something that the man will not 
forget. If it occurs a second time without much 
intermission, you had better show him that you 
have lost confidence in him by looking them over 
yourself after he gets through with them (the 
headings ) , and keep this up until you get con- 
fidence in him again. If your plant is big enough 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 17 

to have a second hand, he (the second hand) 
should do this work, especially on difficult pat- 
terns. Have the warp starter cut a small square 
out of the heading at the start of every warp and 
match it up with the original sample, and leave 
both it and the sample on your desk for you to 
match it up yourself as to color, weave, draw, etc. 
Thus wrong filling or anything else will and 
should be detected. The rest of his work will 
depend on your judgment in accordance with 
the size of the plant. If you haven't got a second 
hand, use the warp starter as such, and expect 
him to go around the looms with his eyes open 
and see things which may be wrong, whatever 
they are. Draw his attention to anything you 
find wrong that he ought to have seen, and let him 
know that you expect him to be right on to his 
job. Bring him up right at the start and all the 
time. Be aggressive when you find a man negli- 
ger.t, particularly so if he has a responsible posi- 
tion, but be liberal if he does his work conscien- 
tiously and well. 

Whenever there is anything wrong with a warp 
and some alterations have to be made in the loom, 
it is well to instruct your warp starter to handle 
it, so as to bring him up right in taking care of 
such things. It may be easier for you to do it 
yourself, but poor policy. It is better to educate 
3^our help to handle most everything that comes 



18 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

along. Make it a point to do this and you will 
not often find yourself crowded with work. 

Make it a practice to promote your help to 
higher positions when competence and oppor- 
tunity make such a thing practical. Thus the 
young man you have had building chains for per- 
haps years may be promoted to warp starter; in 
which case it would be good policy to hold him 
responsible for the work of his successor at chain- 
building. Make it a point to insist that there be 
no waiting for chains or for anything else as far 
as your department is responsible. Make it known 
in unmistakable terms that they will have to be 
right on to their job if they are going to hold it ; 
but when you have a man who is unquestionably 
competent and faithful, do not be over ready to 
dock him his full pay for an occasional hour or 
two absence. 

At the start of every warp there are an 
unlimited number of ways in which it may be 
wrong and not be noticed until the goods are 
finished, or, at any rate, until after they are 
woven. It depends to a great extent on the- 
peculiarities of your help as to what you will need 
to lookout for the most, though as a general rule- 
in this case as well as in other ways it is usually 
the unexpected that happens. One of your loom- 
fixers may be an almighty good man in every 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 19 

way but one ; that one, if it be a tendency to 
forget to ring up his harness chains at the start 
of the warp, may be the means of causing a fre- 
quency of harness skips. Sometimes a whole 
warp will be woven out with enough harness 
skips in each cut to make it a ''second," and not 
one of them be seen until the cloth is finished. 
Another tendency may be a faulty adjustment of 
the take-up motion where the rachet gear is used. 
If not adjusted right you are liable to have it take 
up two teeth in place of one at certain places oa 
the gear. That is to say, it may be set too near 
the edge of the tooth so that sometimes when the 
teeth are not all exactly the same size, the pawl 
will get over the edge and thus cause the pusher 
to take up two teeth in place of one at this point. 
This is a chronic failing with some people. It 
may be as well to state here that as a general rule 
the worm take-up is much more reliable and safer 
of producing evenly woven cloth than the rachet 
gear take-up is. The warp starter should be in- 
structed and brought up to see that the rachet 
take-up gear has a safe clearance both at the 
pushing and holding catch. 

Whenever defects occur through the evident 
j:eglect of any one in your department, try to 
.make it as unpleasant for them as it is for you ; 
study to say something about it that they will not 
forget. Everyone who has anything to do with 



20 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

the starting of a warp is liable to make a mis- 
take, in which case, of course, the goods cannot 
be used to fill the orders on which they were 
made. The work of the weave room, however, 
is usually so systemized that an error made at 
a;iy stage of the work is usually detected and 
remedied in the succeeding stages. There may 
be some wrong colors in the warp or some of 
the right colors may be in the wrong place or get 
drawn in on the wrong harnesses, or there may 
be a mistake in the chains or in the drafts they 
are made from, or the wrong draft may have 
heen used, or the filling carrier may make a mis- 
take in the filling, or the warp starter may get 
the right colors in the wrong box, or in the wrong 
shed of the warp, or the loomfixer may have for- 
ge tten to change the take-up gear, etc., etc. In 
your system you may have a check or safeguard 
against every known liability, but, like burglar 
alarms and filling stopmotions, they are not infal- 
lible. A good w^arp starter would detect nearly 
all the above-mentioned mistakes ninety-nine 
times out of a hundred, but in order to make sure 
that the cloth you are about to weave is wdiat is 
wanted, what is ordered and that there is no mis- 
take about it, your warp starter should take the 
])recaution to cut out a square about five inches 
\\ ide and three or four inches long and lay it on 
your desk along with a clipping of the original 
sample. These you (the overseer) should com- 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 21 

pare very carefully yourself, noting the colors, 
weave, yarn, general matching appearance, etc. 
But even then, considering that you are matching 
an unfinished piece of goods with a finished 
sample, you are liable to fail to detect an error, 
particularly so if it is a fancy piece dye. For 
instance, a certain style, say 6601-2, may have 
in its combination a 2 down and i up weave, 
while style 6601-3 may, while having the same 
general construction, have in place of a small 
stripe of 2 down and i up a mixed up affair of 
3 down and i up. The chain builder gets — 3 
instead of line 2 by mistake. The warp starter 
compares the draft with the chain, but fails to 
notice that the draft was 6601-3, whereas the 
ticket called for 6601-2 ; thus it got by him. All 
this, of course, is a supposition showing what 
might happen. Next, you get the sample to match 
up, but as you are matching up a rough unfinished 
iincolored piece of goods with a smooth-pressed 
colored sample, you fail to notice the slight dif- 
ference in this part of the weave, and the whole 
Avarp is woven wrong. What are you going to 
•do about it? You must amend your system so 
as to be sure of catching such a mistake in the 
future. To do this instruct your warp starter, 
whe 1 he brirgs the matching up samples and lays 
them on your desk, to bring the warp ticket and 
'cbai 1 draft at the same time, so that when you 
miatch up the sample you can also compare the 



22 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

draft number with the style number on the ticket 
and thus eHminate the possibiHty of such a mis- 
take in the future. Let this be the rule and guide 
of your conduct in all cases where the peculiar 
weakness of your force makes a certain mistake 
or defect possible ; devise a means of blocking 
such a possibility and incorporate such into your 
system. Some people cannot be depended on to 
do a thing right if there is a possible way of 




THE WEAVERS 

Handling the weavers to the best advantage is 
where good judgment, tact and generalship are 
most needed. Although weavers as a general rule 
are conscientious and endeavor to do right as far 
as they know it, it is a well-known fact that they 
have their troubles and suffer much through the 
faults of others ; more so perhaps than any other 
class of woolen mill help. It is therefore remark- 
able that good nature is as well kept up with them 
as it is. I well remember one good-hearted boss 
weaver who had great tact iii handling weavers 
and others with a grievance of their own; he was 
no bully, but got along better than any thick- 
headed bully ever could. When a weaver or 
loomfixer w^ould go to him w^ith a tale of woe 
and a face as long as a fiddle, the first thing he 
w^ould do after hearing their story w^ould be to 
tell them a comical story, which as a general 
rule fitted their case; this and a little fatherly 
talk usually cleared the mental atmosphere, and 
nine times out of ten sent the discouraged one 
away with his spirit fourteen shades of a lighter 
blue. He, however, had his faults, if such they 
may be called, for it was well known that the best 
weavers got the most difficult work marked out 



24 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

for tlicm whenever there was any choice to be 
made ; which, of course, f^nay not be a fault at 
all from a one-sided standpoint, but from an im- 
partial standpoint not every one could have done 
it to their own advantage as much as he did. 
However, to proceed with the subject matter, it 
is well known that there are always some weavers 
who are incompetent, careless, thoughtless, mean 
aid ignorant. Some one thing, some another and 
some the whole business combined. It is with 
these that your concentrated skill of management 
is most needed. Of course, the first impulse 
which comes to mind is "fire them;'" if they are 
no good or do not govern themselves in a proper 
spirit, "fire them." But this, to a good, conscien- 
tious, thoughtful overseer, does not always seem 
the right thing to do, especially so in a one-horse 
town where if you discharge one man the whole 
^"amily must either move or disintegrate to some 
extent, causing great hardship either way. A 
^cod overseer often puts up with a man for these 
'easons, although it does not seem to be to hi v 
best interest to do so. If a weaver is incom- 
petent, but still tries hard to hold his job, it is 
the overseer's Christian duty, his human duty and 
and his brotherly duty to try to educate him after 
having once hired him, and to use his best en- 
deavors to make him competent. 

His work should be taken away from him only 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 25 

as a last resort, when without a doubt you are 
satisfied that weaving good cloth is not one of his 
attainments. If, however, an incompetent weaver 
dees not make any great effort to take off good 
work, it is of course a different matter ; it would 
then be foolish of an overseer to lower his own 
standing and take chances of injuring his reputa- 
tion by keeping him any longer than he can help. 

\^arious devices are in use for keeping the 
weavers' work up to a high standard of quality, 
such as graded price lists, fines, etc. ; but as these 
are well known to every one with wide enough 
experience to attempt the management of a weave 
room, it is hardly advisable here to take up time 
and space discussing them further than to say 
that much more severity should be used in fining 
weavers whose work is usually below the average 
than with those whose work is usually above the 
average. Even if you have a "fine" list to work 
by, you have to use judgment in imposing fines. 

If you have a percher who is trustworthy and 
of good judgment, it is good policy to let him do 
the fining up to a specified amount for defects 
which can be remedied or mended in the sewing 
room, but when the specified amount is not ade- 
quate to repair the defects which exceed the 
average, then he should call the overseer's atten- 
tion to them. The overseer should then send for 



26 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

the weaver and look the defects over before him, 
explaining their seriousness and instructing him 
how they should be avoided. If the weaver com- 
plains about the fine being too heavy, like a "Jew" 
I once had who usually asked me if "I couldn't 
make it a little sheaper/' ask him if he can do 
better work ; if so it will save you the unpleasant 
task of having to fine him so much ; if not, it 
would pay you better to let the loom stand. Avoid 
humiliating any one as much as you can, espe- 
cially in front of others, but .still be firm in your 
decisions. Be fair to all and have no favorites ; 
and bear in mind no matter how well you hold 
your work in hand you cannot do a man an injus- 
tice without injuring yourself. 

As an overseer you will have to be everlastingly 
instructing your weavers in their work if you 
ever become eminently successful ; or otherwise 
have a second hand capable of doing this. You 
have to be always on the alert in building up 
their efiiciency. You wdll often have to tell them 
that vicious handling of a tender warp is what 
makes it go bad. You will often see them leaning 
on it with their arms when looking for an empt} 
heddle, etc., etc. Always be on the lookout for 
these things and persevere in teaching them how 
harmful they are. Insist on neatness about their 
work, and have them keep the floor clean around 
and under their looms. If you find it necessary to 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 



27 



get "mad clear through" once in a while, do not 
be hast}' of action at such times ; wait until you 
cool off a little and be sure your head is level ; try 
to keep it so at all times. 



c 



FILLING CARRYING 

The man who has charge of the filHng depart- 
ment has one of, if not the, most important 
branch of a fancy woolen or worsted weave 
room. 

While the work itself is not difficult nor calls 
for any great amount of brains in its handling, 
it needs a man with a careful and orderly disposi- 
tion. Careful to see that weavers always use up 
one lot before they start on another lot. This 
rule must be as rigidly followed in white yarn as 
it is in colored, and the overseer of weaving 
should exercise greater oversight in this case, 
because neglect is not apparent on the surface 
until the goods are colored and finished, whereas 
with colored yarn a change of lots may some- 
times be noticeable on the loom. Where a number 
of looms are using the same filling, when the end 
of the lot is in sight, the filling carrier should 
scheme to change them over when the cuts are 
full, leaving only the last one to be changed in the 
middle of a cut ; and this, if anywhere near the 
end, would be better to put the heading in there, 
or weave along till the filling is all used up before 
putting the heading in if it does not go more than 
8 or 10 yards past the cut mark. 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 29 

A good, orderly disposition will keep things 
from getting mixed up and woven into the wrong, 
warp ; will prevent pieces of bobbins from 
accumulating; will wind up the small pieces of 
spools before starting on a full one and will have- 
a tendency to keep the weavers filling boxes or-; 
derly so that there will be no odd 'bobbins left- 
over in them. Make the head filling carrier 
responsible for all these things and for the wind-; 
ing, and let him choose his own assistants if any' 
are needed, knowing well that if you have a man 
or boy you wish to bring in he will surely give 
him preference. 

, Educate your filling carrier to be prompt in 
taking the filling away from the loom when a 
warp is out, and to do this thoroughly so that 
none of it v/ill be left in the shuttles hanging up 
on the loom or in the boxes ; to be impartial to . 
the weavers in serving the filling and to use good 
judgment at all times. 




THE PERCHER 

In selecting a percher try to get a man who is 
easy going and care free ; one who keeps good bed 
hours and does not spend his evenings boozing 
and playing poker. If he has domestic, or outside 
business troubles or in other ways does not keep 
his mind clear, especially when looking over the 
headings, he will surely miss something he ought 
to catch ; a wrong draw, thread out or in the 
wrong place, or some such defect which may go 
through another cut before it is discovered. A 
percher's business is to look the cloth over as it 
comes from the looms, measure and weigh it, 
record all particulars in the perch book or ledger 
or both. To see defects in the cloth when they 
are there and to know what such defects are when 
he sees them. 

Always bear in mind that, however well quali- 
fied your perchers may be, their efficiency, like 
that of the warpstarters, weavers, loomfixers, 
etc., has got to be kept up. 

Let up in your vigilance with your perchers 
and they will follow suit as quickly as any class 
of help in the mill. 



KEEPING THE ROOM CLEAN 

If your plant is big enough to warrant the 
expense, perhaps the best system of keeping the 
weave rooms and toilet rooms clean is to hire an 
old woman or some simple-minded person to do 
this work and nothing else; the place will be kept 
cleaner and with less care on yourself in this way 
than if some of your regular force has to do it 
as a side line. Sink rooms and waterclosets 
should be scrubbed out at least once a week. In 
small weave rooms you have, of course, to depend 
on some one of 3'our regular force to do these 
things, and, speaking personally, I have to admit 
that under those circumstances I have never been 
able to keep a place as clean as I should have 
liked to. This, therefore, is one of those things 
which are much easier to accomplish on a large 
scale than on a small one. It is, however, a work 
which has got to be done, and the better it is kept 
the more respect your help in general will have 
for it. Let dirt accumulate in any one place and 
it will quickly become a dumping place for all 
kinds of rubbish. In order to keep a room rea- 
sonably clean it must be cleaned up often ; swept, 
say from two to four times a day. Deep cans 
or boxes should be placed at reasonable distances 



32 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

for the weavers and others to put their sweepings 
in. Fix it up with the man in charge of the 
waste room to go or send a man around the 
room once a day and pick up the regular clean 
waste; by so doing he will be able to keep the 
different kinds separate according to his own 
taste and instruct the weavers to do so. Much 
can be said on the subject of clean weave rooms, 
but when all is said and done it is still up to the 
judgment of the overseer to a great extent as to 
how far he shall go in this direction; such judg- 
ment being formed, of course, by the general 
condition of things and the attitude of the man- 
agement in particular. Much depends on the 
circumstances under which one has to work. In 
a nice, new mill with good, smooth floors it is 
good policy to have them scrubbed regularly, but 
in an old mill, etc., it is a different matter. But 
in any case it is safe to say that neatness and 
cleanliness materially helps the production and 
improves the minds of the operatives. 



BEFORE THE HIGH COURT IN 

THE FINISHING ROOM 

''Seconds" are goods which contain too many 
defects or are too defective to be sold as first 
class. They are made in all fancy woolen or 
worsted mills, more or less according to circum- 
stances and the efficiency of those who produce 
them. The efficiency of the weave room help de- 
pends to a great extent on the overseer of that 
department. The efficiency of the overseers of a 
mill depends to a great extent on the superintend- 
ent. But, no matter how excellent may be your 
system or how vigilantly you may look after 
things, defects in the cloth will come along to 
some extent. Some of these defects, such as 
coarse yarn, unevenly woven cloth, harness skips, 
holes, shady filling and an unlimited number of 
other things, cannot be remedied in the cloth, or 
at least it is not practical to attempt to remedy 
them after they are made and woven in there ; so 
that when the goods come to their final inspection 
in the finishing room there is sometimes enough 
of these defects in the cloth to make it a ''second," 
thus entailing considerable loss in its value. At 
this point it is up to the superintendent to study 
these defects and determine what department is 
tto blame for them, and to devise means of pre- 



34 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

venting them in future as much as possible. 
Sometimes two or three departments are involved, 
as, for instance, defective yarn, coarse places, 
uneven or shady. The carding and spinning 
departments may be to blame for making them, 
but the weaver is to blame for letting them get 
by him. Of course, when these defects are plen- 
tiful and of all degrees of magnitude, it is impos- 
sible for a weaver to catch them all, so that some 
of them get by and the goods are seconds. Now, 
although these defects are or should be reported 
long before the goods get to the finishing room, 
when they do get there, whatever the defect may 
be that has caused a piece of goods to be made 
a "second," every effort must be made to prevent 
a recurrence ; so to this end the superintendent 
sends for the overseer of whatever department 
there is a suspicion of neglect; usually, of course, 
the weave room. It makes little difference what 
defects of material the weave room has to con- 
tend with, its product must be good or there is 
lots of trouble. 

Now the superintendent is usually a wise man ; 
he knows a thing or two, as he has been through 
the ropes himself, and he doesn't always let his 
lectures rest with the overseer of one department, 
even though in his own mind he knows that that 
one department is the only one to blame in that 
particular instance. He knows that he has got to 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 35 

get after the other departments once in a while 
to keep up their vigilance ; so that when the cause 
of the defects are in doubt or if it can be made 
to appear doubtful, two or three overseers are 
liable to be called to account. This is usually a 
trying time for the overseer, because it is often 
something he cannot positively prevent altogether, 
though as a result of the interview he may decide 
thst it would be better to concentrate his atten- 
tion a little more on this particular point. An 
overseer's deportment at such times may be very 
heJpful to him in inspiring confidence in his ability 
to handle the situation. For instance, supposing 
the goods are coming "rowey" for some reason 
or another, the cause of which is hard to deter- 
mine. The superintendent, if at all in doubt, and 
sometimes when not in doubt at all, will send for 
the overseers of each department where roweness 
of that apparent nature can be caused, one at a 
time, of course, and, if not absolutely blaming 
each department, will leave it to be inferred that 
they are apparently not using sufficient vigilance 
in that particular direction. By so doing he not 
only gets the right one, but stirs up the others 
to renewed activity, and without a doubt this is 
good policy, if not carried altogether too far. 

Human nature is such that if allowed to become 
stagnant we deteriorate in efficiency. Therefore 
the supposition is that even though you are not 



36 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

actually making seconds at the time being, you 
might soon get to that stage if not stirred up 
occasionally. The maxim, "prevention is better 
than cure," applies in this case just as much as 
in bodily ailments. But to return to the weaving- 
business in general and to this rowey goods 
business in particular. The superintendent will, 
after getting through with the finisher or dyer 
or whoever he has decided to get after for negli- 
gerxe, besides the boss weaver, then send for the 
latter and at once begin to show him that his 
filling carrier must have mixed the lots ; or he 
may be more aggravating still and say that you 
or he (the filling carrier) are getting everything 
mixed up ; there is the evidence of it in the goods 
!:efcre you; this business can't go on this way^ 
etc. This, as has been said, may be good policy 
if not carried too far. If not pursued with good 
judgment, however, it may be a serious injustice 
to some of the overseers who are satisfied that 
their department is not only not to blame, but that, 
they have used more than sufficient care at that 
particular point where they are accused of 
negligence. 

However, to come down to your own case as 
overseer of the weaving department, you know- 
that your help needs to be stirred up once in ai 
while just as much as you do yourself, therefore 
why should it not be good policy for you to carry 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 37 

that system Into your own department by send- 
ing for your head filHng carrier and showing him 
the result of an evident mix-up in the lots. Thus, 
though he might not have been to blame, though 
in reality there may not have been any filling lots 
mixed, in fact, your department may not neces- 
sarily have been at fault, it will serve to prevent a 
lack of vigilence in that direction and in his mak- 
ing sure that the weaver has used up all the old 
lot of filling before the new lot is given to him. 
It does more good to show the goods that are de- 
fective to the party who you judge to be most to 
blame than it does to just merely tell him about 
the matter. Then, again, if the trouble is some- 
thing that the weaver could possibly prevent, 
either altogether or to a greater or less extent, 
such as coarse filling, shady filling, uneven start- 
ing-up places, etc., unless he (the weaver) has 
seen them at the weave room perch and been sub- 
stantially fined for them, bring the percher down 
to see how the thing looks. He will thus realize 
more fully that a lack of diligence on his part 
results in carelessness on that of the weavers. 
But, referring to your deportment at such times, 
try to size up the situation deliberately and with 
good judgment, tell the superintendent what you 
think of it, keep cool and do not talk at random 
nor too much ; and if he has not been altogether 
too aggravating, so much so as to make a calm, 
-reasonable statement impossible, inform him that 



38 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

you will give the matter your careful considera- 
tion and endeavor to devise means of preventing 
such defects as much as possible in the future. 
By so doing you will win his confidence and he 
will be more satisfied that everything possible is 
being done. Your work as overseer of weaving 
calls for eternal vigilance. I speak now of a 
good-sized fancy goods mill in particular. You 
cannot let up in your vigilance one day without 
noticing the results yourself. You cannot let up 
in it two days but what your help will notice it. 
You cannot let up in it three days but what the 
management of the mill must notice it ; it will 
show in the goods. Do not be discouraged as 
long as you think you can handle the situation ; 
remember that trials and tribulations are a part 
of the job. 




STARTING IN AT A NEW PLACE 

One cannot start in at a new place and expect 
to have everything well in hand the first day or 
to change the system over to his own ideas at the 
start. When you go to take charge of a weaving 
department that has been running under a man- 
agement of different ideas to your own there is 
usually a system already in force ; it is according 
to that system the force is organized, and it is in 
accordance with that system that you must, for 
the time being, work. It would be bad policy to 
upset a long-established system suddenly and 
without first getting familiar wdth its details. 
You may see one hundred things that are not 
right, that may be positively wrong, but if you go 
to work and change them over too fast you 
would cjuickly find two hundred other things out 
of harmony, and before a week had gone by your 
work would be on top of you so that you could 
net move. The superintendent would have to 
come to your assistance in order to save the situa- 
tion, and, while he may approve of your push and 
energy, would certainly lose confidence in your 
judgment and tact. He may admire your heroic 
efforts, but would hardly feel like trusting the 
iiianagement to such judgment. If you find that 



40 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

the adjustments of your warp beams, friction 
bands, take-up motions, shedding motions, box 
motions, harness cyhnders, etc., are not to the 
best interest of the work in hand, or that the 
chain drafting is actually bad, or that the warp 
starter or filling carrier or percher is not the right 
man in the right place, go slow in making 
changes. Changes, of course, will have to be 
made or the job would soon be vacant again. 

When a warp comes out let that loom be the 
center of your observations, both before the new 
warp goes in and after it is started. Whatever 
you see is not right about the loom call the loom- 
fixer to it and have him make it right. Be par- 
ticular about the adjustments of the friction 
bands, and if you find the heavy-weight notch in 
use, evidently to save the trouble of piling on a 
few more weights, inform the fixer and warp- 
starter that the light-weight notch must be used 
when an excessive amount of weight is not called 
for. Explain that it is more sensitive to the pull 
and can therefore be depended on to let the warp 
off more regularly ; whereas, when the heavy- 
weight notch is used, and the warp gets down to 
the last cut, it has more of a tendency to let off 
in jumps at irregular intervals. If you find any- 
thing the matter with the cloth at the start, call 
the warpstarter's attention to it and caution him. 
to look out for such things. Take especial inter- 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 41 

est ill everything concerning the starting of a new 
warp yourself and you will quickly find the loom- 
fixer and every one else will take a tumble and 
follow suit. By following this line of action you 
will be gradually straightening things out to your 
own taste, and so surely that by the time all your 
looms have got a new warp you will know where 
you stand and that you stand on solid ground. 
The improvement in the production will be such 
that it will be noticeable without a microscope. 
While you are doing all this you can at the same 
time be getting a good hold on the other details of 
your work ; arranging your system to suit your- 
self and putting the men you have on to such 
work as you find them most suitable for. If any- 
one objects \o the change and fires up his job, 
settle up with him at once, as he has done you a 
favor by leaving. But do not make any more 
changes until his successor has the work well in 
hand and is worked in to your liking. In due 
time you will find that you have things well in 
hand and that you are on top of your job and 
able to hold it down. But, on the other hand, 
just as long as you keep a man on a job for which 
he is not temperamentally fitted, so long will you 
have a weak spot in your organization and an 
insecure position. 

Keep your own counsel and do not make your 
plans known until they are in operation. 



STIMULATING AN INTEREST IN 
THE PRODUCTION 

The various schemes that have been devised 
and put forth for stimulating an interest in the 
i)roduction, amongst the loomfixers and weavers 
in some of the larger and more enterprising mills 
in the Eastern States, is evidence that a great 
amount of intelligent study has been made on the 
subject, and in some cases with very good results. 
Some of these schemes with comments on the 
same as they have appeared to the writer are 
herein given. 

One large plain goods, two-loom system mill 
has what is known as a premium system, the 
operation of which is of the following nature : At 
the end of every month, or perhaps four weeks, 
each weaver's total earnings are figured up. 
Those having earned, say $40, are given a pre- 
mium of nve cents on the dollar extra. Those 
weavers whose earnings amount to, say $45, get 
ten cents on the dollar extra. These figures may 
net be exactly correct, but are somewhere near 
the mark. Thus the more skilful a weaver is 
and the more faithfully he sticks to his work, the 
more he gets paid for each yard woven. A good 
weaver in this mill is therefore able to do very 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 43 

well, whereas a slow dope of a weaver would not 
earn much. The system, therefore, has a tend- 
ency not only to encourage each weaver to do his 
level best while he is in there, but it is an induce- 
ment especially favorable to the best class of 
weavers. No one wants poor weavers, anyway. 
In a system of this kind a lower price list is more 
acceptable than would be the case without it. 

The same idea is carried along to the loom- 
iixers ; they are given a premium once a month, 
amounting to something like i6 per cent, of what 
their weavers make over an average of, say $42. 
Thus if the total earnings of a section of weavers 
would average $44 per weaver, the fixer would 
get 1,2 cents for each weaver or $3.52 for a sec- 
tion of eleven weavers, in addition to his regular 
pay. This rate, however, seems to me rather too 
acute to be satisfactory, because a little hard luck 
or too many poor weavers on a section -would 
spoil the loomfixer's premium to an unreasonable 
extent. Ten per cent, of the aggregate amount 
over and above a slightly lower rate than the 
above mentioned figure would be more satisfac- 
tory and produce fully as good results. 

Another system w^orth mentioning in this direc- 
tion is to post a notice every week in each weave 
room of the number of yards taken off each sec- 
tion of looms, the average number of picks per 



44 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

yard and the percentage of time this would figure 
out for each loom to have run. This, as will be 
seen, does not affect the loomfixer's pocketbook 
at all, but, nevertheless, has just as good a stimu- 
lating effect on the production, because no loom- 
fixer likes to see his percentage of production 
down to the bottom of the list; while those who 
are fortunate enough to be at the top always take 
great pride in the fact. 

This system, however, unless carried out with 
discretion and good judgment, is liable to do 
someone an injustice and therefore to be demoral- 
izing. If the really good and conscientious loom- 
fixers cannot obtain the highest percentage on ac- 
count of having a poor set of weavers, the whole 
thing is an injustice to them. Therefore, when 
this system is in vogue such a condition should be 
carefully guarded against by the overseer. Per- 
haps the most common plan of stimulating the 
loomfixer's interest in the production of the 
weave room is the well-known system of paying 
them so much per week, usually about $i6, and 
one per cent, of the weaver's earnings. This 
system, however, does not amount to much as af- 
fecting the production. 



OTHER WAYS OF HELPING THE 
PRODUCTION 

In your regular travels back and forth through 
the weave room, if a loom is stopped, do not pass 
it without seeing it ; see it and make no secret of 
the fact. If you find that a weaver is bothered 
with his warp threads breaking too much, tell the 
loomfixer to look it up and see if he can help it 
some. Then, if after a reasonable time he fails 
to make a satisfactory improvement in it, go at 
it yourself. Study the problem for all you are 
worth and do not let up on it till you have con- 
quered it. This is where a first-class loomfixer 
as an overseer proves his superiority over an 
overseer who is nothing more than a figurehead. 

As a general rule, single woolen warp yarn will 
weave better with a rather light tension than if 
kept very tight, whereas a two-ply worsted warp 
usually goes better woven good and tight. 

There is one thing about the adjustment of the 
top cylinder I have found to be particularly help- 
ful in weaving bad warps, and that is, to set it so 
that when the reed is beating in the filling, with 
the crank at its most forward point, the harnesses 
going up will have ^ in. or ^ in. to travel. 
Thus, as the ree:l in backing away from the cloth 
lets up on the tension of the warp threads, the 



46 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

harnesses will be just getting to their highest 
point, thereby taking up the tension as the lay lets 
go on it, thus keeping the tension on the yarn 
much nearer even than is liable to be the case if 
set even two teeth out of the way, as is usually 
the case when set by guesswork. 

The best position to set the bottom cylinder 
when the top one is set as just described is to set 
it fully two teeth ahead of the top one. This con- 
clusion is arrived at, not through theorizing, but 
t': rough long experience, though a reason for this 
coul 1 very readily be given here if it was thought 
advisable to do so. The author will, however, 
willingly talk on any subject contained herein to 
anyone seeking further information. 

There are a multitude of things that can be 
done to help a warp at a pinch, such as putting 
wet headings on top of it near the whip roll to. 
keep it moist ; raising or lowering the whip roll ;, 
putting lease rods under the threads wdiich break 
tlie most; tying the harnesses back so that the 
reed cap cannot bump against them ; making sure 
t^hat the shuttles are all right and that they do not 
bump against the upper part of the shed when. 
|)icked out of the shuttle box.. 

The eccentric gears, to be set to the best ad- 
vantage for a tender warp, or, in fact, for any 
purpose, as far as I have been able to discover,. 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 47 

should be set as follows : Turn crank to top cen- 
ter, disconnect upright shaft, loosen up the eccen- 
tric driving gear and set it two or three teeth 
short of the fastest point ; thus, when the crank 
has passed the center, just a little, the head mo- 
tion will be at its fastest point. This changes the 
harness on the slow motion and is just right for 
the box motion. 

If you find a loom to be stopped too much be- 
cause the filling is bad, look it up yourself the 
first. See if the tension in all the shuttles using 
that same filling is the same, or if some of them 
have too much. Study the picking motion and 
see if it would be possible to make the loom run 
with a little less power. If any of these things 
are wrong for the work under consideration they 
are wrong for any kind of work, and it would be 
in order to call the loomiixer's attention to them. 
Educate the weaver to know when he has too 
much tension on the filling, as he has more chance 
of noticing such things than the loomfixer lias. 
There is, however, no excuse for running a loom 
with two holes of power more than is needed ; it 
•causes unnecessary wear on ihe loom and an un- 
necessary strain on the filling. Be on the lookout 
for such things all the time, and do not hesitate 
ito open your mouth when needed. You help 
your weavers as well as the economy of produc- 
;tion by so doin^. 



48 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

How are the bobbins wound? Do they usually 
weave off without any trouble as far as the wind- 
ing is concerned? Are they a good shape and 
size? Is there as much yarn on them as you can 
possibly put on, to run good? If not, then study 
the winder until you have made everything as 
good as it can be made. Such things are very en- 
couraging to the weaver when they are all right, 
but most discouraging when otherwise. If a 
weaver has a grievance, endeavor to honestly 
remedy the trouble, bearing in mind that his in- 
come is stopped, as well as the production of that 
loom, when it is stopped. 

Chain Drafting is a study ; it may help the 
production or hinder it, according to how it is 
done. While due consideration must be given to 
the avoidance of taking too many picks in suc- 
cession of one bobbin and to avoiding skip boxes, 
it is very seldom necessary to sacrifice its sim- 
plicity. As much consideration as possible should 
be given to the weaver's convenience by arrang- 
ing the shuttles to run where they can be seen 
and to running each one in its own box as much 
as is practical. I have often seen, and had to fix 
looms for most difficult chain drafts ; difficult for 
both the loom and the weaver because there were 
more skip boxes than were necessary, and the 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 49 

shuttles would be sent into blind boxes when they 
could fully as well have been run into the top box. 
Then again the thing would be so complicated 
that the weaver could never get it all into his 
head. 

Usually an overseer whose head is thick 
enough to make such drafts is also stubborn 
enough to refuse to consider any change in it 
which may be suggested by someone else. I once 
took charge of the weaving in a fancy worsted 
mill in Massachusetts and found some such 
chains in operation. One in particular was so 
complicated that there was an average of two 
shuttle smashes to every cut, and the weaver had 
been changed three times on account of it. One 
may imagine how that would spoil the produc- 
tion, but it would be difficult to imagine how 
much. Just as soon as I could get around to it I 
simplified matters by making out a chain draft 
for it which gave three of the shuttles a box of 
their own on one side and joined at two on the 
other side. It was much better for the weaver, 
much better on the loom and much better for the 
production. The moral, therefore, is, study out 
a draft for simplicity ; avoid having every shuttle 
jrmping into every box on the loom and some- 
times out of it. Give them each a box of their 
own whenever practical ; study to this end and 
run the fancy pick in the bottom boxes, every- 



50 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 



thing else being equal or nearly so. A good man 
at planning a box chain would draft a better 
chain in 15 minutes than a poor one would in 15 
weeks. 

There is no end of things an overseer can do to 
help the production. 




THE CLERICAL WORK 

As conditions vary so much in different mills, it 
would hardly be advisable to advocate any definite 
system of filling out the warp tickets and record- 
ing the work in general. This is a work which 
is usually very readily systemized according to 
circumstances ; it is probably the least of an over- 
seer's troubles. The percher records his work in 
the perch book and can enter it all in the ledger 
at the close of each day's work. The drawers-in 
each have a small book of their own in which the 
man in charge of them puts down the style num- 
ber, warp number and the number of threads of 
each warp as they draw them in. You, the over- 
seer, look after the time book of the day help. 
If your system is such that an assistant book- 
keeper is not needed in the weave room, you can 
go through the weave room at regular intervals, 
say every afternoon, and take up the warp tickets 
on each loom where a new warp has been put in. 
and enter an account of each one in the ledger 
and make out the piece tickets for each cut, giv- 
ing each one its number as they follow along in 
the ledger in consecutive order. 

You can enter the loom number, weaver's 



52 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

name, warp number, style, number of threads, 
number of picks and number of cuts in the warp. 

The date, yards, weight, fines, remarks, etc., 
will be filled in by the percher from the perch 
book. The irregular figuring out of amounts of 
material needed, summing tip of your weekly 
production, percentage, making out the pay roll, 
etc., will be up to yourself to a great extent. 




LOOKING OUT FOR SUPPLIES 

After a good stock of supplies has been 
acquired it is, or should be, an easy matter to 
keep it up. 

After the first cost, the annual expense is no 
greater than when running from hand to mouth. 
The difference in money invested between a good 
stock of supplies and a poor one is perhaps $70 
or $80. The saving in the expense of hurried 
shipments, the loss of time in frequently waiting 
two or three days, the expense of telegraphing 
the orders and consequently having items in small 
quantities come by express would be possibly 20 
times the interest of that amount. The moral, 
therefore, is, get a good stock of supplies and 
keep it up after getting it up. A good system of 
doing this is to have a book or sheet of paper in 
your desk on which to write down any item which 
you may find to be getting scarce. For instance, 
a loomfixer wants a new chain-cylinder gear ; you 
go to get one for him and find that after giving 
him one you will only have one left. Make a 
note of this on the sheet of paper in your desk or 
on file, as the case may be, as follows: 
Wanted 

6 Chain-Cylinder Gears No. 236 or L 1029. 



54 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

Then again the same way the next time you 
find yourself down to the last one, and so on until 
when it becomes imperative or even advisable to 
send in an order, send in the whole list which 
you may have been accumulating since sending in 
the previous order. Thus you are sure of having 
ordered just the things you need and no more. 
There is no time and labor wasted in looking 
things up to see what you need and in usually 
overlooking some important item. You get a 
good lot at one shipment and save the trouble and 
expense of frequent ordering. Keep account of 
everything you give out, of any consequence, and 
to whom you give them to. See the point? 

Do you think an overseer of weaving has a 
snap? Well, there is one sure thing about it, he 
can always find plenty to do. 




YARN CALCULATIONS ETC. 

Worsted — To find the number of yards of 
single worsted yarn in one pound, multiply the 
number of the yarn by 560. Thus No. 28 yarn 
X 560 equals 15,680 yards to the pound. If it is 
two-ply yarn there will be one-half that number 
of yards ; if 3-ply, one-third, etc. 

Woolen — To find the number of yards of 
woolen yarn in one pound, multiply the number 
of the yarn in runs by 1600. Thus 4 run yarn X 
1600 equals 6,400 yards to the pound. 

Twisted threads are not always of the same 
counts; in such cases the equivalent in a single 
thread is found by multiplying the two numbers 
and dividing the product by their sum. 

For example, a 30s and a 20s twisted together : 

30X20 

=12 

30+20 
Thus I -1 2 would be equal to the twisted thread. 

To find the woolen run, equal to a given two- 
ply worsted thread, divide the worsted number 



56 WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 

twice and add up. For example, take a 2-24S 
worsted thread ; you divide 24 twice and add up, 
thus : 

24 
12 

6 

42 Four and two-tenth runs is there- 
fore equal to a 2-245 or a 1-12 worsted thread. 

Exercises — What size woolen yarn is equal to 
2-28 worsted ? 

Ans. : Divide 28 twice and add up, thus : 
28 

7 

49 (49-10 run) 

What size woolen yarn is equal to 2-40S 
worsted ? 

Divide 40 twice and add up, thus: 
40 
20 
10 

70 (7.0 run), etc. 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 57 

This is easy when you get used to it, just as 
simple as A, B, C. 

The same result is accomplished by multiplying 
the single number by 3^. 

To get the equivalent in worsted counts to a 
given woolen number, divide the run in tenths by 
3^ or multiply by 2 and divide by 7. Thus 5^ 
run is equal to 

525X2 

=15 (1/15) 



RELATIVE SIZES OF YARN 

Per pound. Per ounce. 

Woolen, 1 run =1600 yards 100 yards 

Worsted, No. 1 counts =: 560 yards 35 yards 

Cotton, No. 1 counts = 840 yards 52^ yards 

Spun silk, No. 1 counts = 840 yards 5 2 >^ yards 

English skein (woolen), No. 1= 256 yards 16 yards 

Phila. cut (woolen), 1 cut = 300 yards 18% yards 

TABLE OF GRAINS 

437/^ grains i ounce. 7000 grains i lb. 



WEIGHT OF FILLING IN A YARD 
OF CLOTH 

Take the size of the filling yarn if worsted and 
reduce it to its equal in woolen run. 

With the run number divide the number of 
inches of filling in one inch of cloth, full reeded 
width. This gives the weight in ounces per yard. 
Add 7 per cent, or 8 per cent, for take up and 
waste. 

For example, take a warp reeded 68 inches 48 
pick 2-24S or I-I2S filling. 
68X48 

^^y.yj ounces per yard. 

42 

Thus with the allowance for take up and waste 
about 8^ ounces would be needed. 

Where do I get the 42 from ? That is the equal 
in runs to 2-24S worsted (4.2-10 runs). 

To reduce worsted numbers to their equivalent 
in cotton numbers, divide by 3 and multiply by 2. 
Thus I -1 28 worsted is equal to i-8s cotton, etc. 

To reduce cotton counts to woolen run, multi- 
ply the single counts by ^% ; this will give the 
run and tenths. Thus I-I2s cotton X 5% gives 
63 (6.3-10). 



WEAVE ROOM MANAGEMENT 



59 



For finding the size of yarn by weighing 50 yards: 
Grains 



per 


Worsted, 


Woolen 


Cotton 


Yards 


Yards 


50 Yds 


. Counts. 


Run. 


Counts. 


Per oz. 


Per lb. 


104.1 


1/6 


2 1-10 


1/4 


210 


3360 


89.3 


7 


2 9-20 


m 


345 


3920 


78.1 


8 


2^ 


5y3 


280 


4480 


69.4 


9 


3 1-7 


6 


315 


5040 


62.5 


10 


3^ 


QVs 


350 


5600 


56.8 


11 


3% 


^'A 


385 


6160 


.52.1 


12 


4/5 


8 


420' 


^ 6720 


48 


13 


4^ 


8/3 


455 


7280 


44.6 


14 


4^ 


9^ 


490 


7810 


41.6 


15 


5^ 


10 


525 


8400 


39 


16 


55/^ 


10/ 


560 


8960 


36.7 


17 


6 


11/ 


595 


9520 


34.7 


18 


6K 


12 


630 


10080 


32.8 


19 


QVs 


12/ 


665 


10640 


31.2 


20 


7 


13/ 


700 


11200 


29.7 


21 


7^ 


14 


735 


11760 


28.4 


22 


7V4 


14/ 


770 


12320 


27.1 


23 


8^ 


15/ 


805 


12880 


26 


24 


SVs 


16 


840 . 


13440 


25 


25 


8^ 


16/ 


875 


14000 


24 


26 


9^ 


17/ 


910 


14560 


23.1 


27 


QVs 


18 


945 


15120 


22.3 


28 


93/4 


18/ 


980 


15680 


21.5 


29 


10^ 


19/ 


1015 


16240 


20.8 


30 


10^ 


20 


1050 


16800 



ADVERTISEMENT 



FIBRE AND FABRIC 

THE AMERICAN TEXTILE TRADE REVIEW 

FREDERICK L. BABCOCK Editor 

ESTABLISHED IN 1885, AND PUBLISHED 
EVERY SATURDAY AT $2.00 A YEAR 

CRICULATION OVER 5,500 WEEKLY 

Read by Treasurers, Agents, Superintendents, 
Overseers, Master Mechanics, Cutters-Up and 
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EMPLOYMENT BUREAU SUPPLIES MILLS WITH FIRST CUSS HELP 



NEW YORK OFFICE 

43 LEONARD STREET 

EDWARD M. HECKER, Mgr. 



Published 
by 



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127 FEDERAL STREET 
BOSTON, MASS 



ADVERTISEMENT 



Manufacturers of 

LOOM PICKERS 



Holbrook Raw Hide Co 

Successors to A. ^ C. W. Holbrook 



Ordinary 



Crompton 



6 Knowles 



Drop Box 




-aLSO- 



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ADVERTISEMENT 



Warp stop motions for looms, for 
cotton, worsted and silk. Both mechani- 
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has an indicator showing the location of 
the broken end, making it very valuable 
for wide looms, where time lost in hunt- 
ing for a broken end materially reduces 
production. 

Worsted mills report 25% to 50% 
saving in sewing on worsted fabrics. 

Cotton mills report 25% reduction in 
cost of weaving and 30% gain in quality 
of product. 

Many thousands of these motions are 
in daily practical use in the country. 

A sample motion installed on trial, if 
there is a fair prospect of business. 



AMERICAN 

TEXTILE APPLIANCES CO. 

William Firth, Treasurer 

115 Congress Street Boston, Mass. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



COIVIPETITION 

In LOOM REPAIR PARTS has for 
ten years shown results to you of 

33J PER CENT. SAVING 



YOU CAN PROVE IT 

BY COMPARING YOUR PAST AND PRESENT BILLS 



DOES THIS COUNT 

If SO please send us a share of your next 
order 



H. F. LIVERMORE CO. 

85 PEARL STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



Who's Who And Where 

Among Mil! Officials and Overseers 

The above is the title of a popular Department 
which appears every week in the AMERICAN 
WOOL AND COTTON REPORTER, and which 
contains weekly from 40 to 100 new personal items 
respecting changes and other information about mill 
ofhcials and heads of departments. 

These paragraphs are incidental to the work of 
keeping up to date our card index of the men in author- 
ity who do the buying for the textile mills of the United 
States. There are 30,000 of them — not mills, but men 
who manage the mills. THE AMERICAN WOOL 
AND COTTON REPORTER is somewhat jealous 
of this branch of its work, because there is nothing like it 
elsewhere in the United States, and because of the labor 
and experience necessary to keep in constant touch with 
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purchasing agencies of the textile industry, that we are 
now putting these 30,000 names into a directory with 
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The edition of this "Directory of the Men Who 
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35,000 copies, and while its price will be $3.00, it will 
be furnished gratis to new subscribers and advertisers of 
the 

American Wool and Cotton Reporter 

mm p. BENNETT & CO., Inc., Publishers 
BOSTON NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA WASHINGTON 



KINKS FOR BOSS WEAVERS 

fiy thirty authorities, including some of the most 
capable manufacturers, superintendents, and 
overseers in the United States. 

THE HANDY COMPANION 

FOR 

The Manufacturer — because it means money to 
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weave room. 
The Superintendent — because in the long run he 

is responsible for the weave room. 
The Overseer — because he is directly responsible 
for results, day by day. 

It is one book in the Textile World Record Kink 
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covers warp preparation, spooling, etc., and v^eaving. 

The great success of this kink book lies in its prep- 
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worked out in years of study and work. The result is 
a book of helps and suggestions from the best men you 
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Kinks for Boss Weavers has been compiled from 
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The answers given helped the men to whom they were 
sent and the kink book is of more value because the 
answers have been revised and only the most valuable 
used. The book contains 96 pages, a full and accurate 
index, and is bound in cloth. 

SPECIAL OFFER 

Kinks for Boss Weavers is offered free with a new 
subscription to the Textile W^orld Record, subscrip- 
tion price $2.00 a year. Subscribers are assured of re- 
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all the copies of the Kink Book are gone. 

If you want further information, mention this pub- 
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and other Kink Books. 

LORD & NAGLE CO., Pub. 

144 CONGRESS ST., BOSTON, MASS. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



American Sipply Co. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

LOOM HARNESS, 
WEAVING REEDS 
LEATHER BELTING 
and LOOM STRAPPING. 
Leather and Raw Hide Pickers 

We make a specialty of Harness for Drawing in Machines. 

Hedd e Frames, Bobbins, Spools, 

Shuttles, roving cans and boxes, 

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=:ETC. 

We carry a full line of General Supplies and 
made a specialty of equipping new Mills. 



Office and Store 

135-137 Washington St., Providence, R. I. 

Factories 

CENTRAL FALLS, R. I. FALL RIVER, MASS. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



If you are interested in 

the Canadian Trade 

wrile for a samle copy of the 

CANADIAN TEXTILE 
JOURNAL 

with which is incorporated 

IKE CANHDil jgURlL OF PUBRICS 

the only paper of its kind in Canada. 



Subscription Price Canada $!.00 per year. 

U. S. on account of postage $1 .50 per year. 

Advertising Rates on Application 

BIGGAR, WILSON LIMITED 

PUBLISHERS 

TORONTO, CANADA. 



EIGHTEEN YEARS 
OF 
DAILY SERVICE! 

That is the record of the DAILY TRADE 
RECORD. 

For eighteen years the DAILY TRADE 
RECORD has been supplying the textile and 
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valuable ideas. To-day its organization ex- 
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It is "eighteen years better" than it was 
eighteen years ago. 

Read it for mill news, piece goods inform- 
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chemicals, etc. 

Use its news and ideas as stepping 
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If you have never seen the DAILY 
TRADE RECORD do not rest until you 
have sent for a sample copy. 

It speaks for itself. 

DAILY TRADE RECORD CO. 

42 East 21st Street, New Vcrk Cily. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



H. F. yVERMORE CO. Me^DeRS 

J^ Tonic for Worn-Out Shuttle Boxes 

2 Parts L= 18 Patch 

2 *• L= 10=70 Bushing 

1 *' each L=88 and L=89 Patch 

2 •* L-135 Patch 
24 " L-113B Rivet 

Must be carefully applied to obtain best results. 
If the case is serious and does not yield to local treat- 
ment, send to H. F. Livermore Co., Boston, 
to be submitted to the "Brazing" operation. 

Dental Work on Vibrator Gears a Specialty. 

mmWS MILL EMPLOYMENT AGENCY 

Receives 140 to 150 calls» each month, for Loom 
Fixers, Second Hands, Perchers, Dressers, Twisters, 
Waurp Starters, Overseers, Superintendents, Designers,. 
Etc, Etc. Those seeking positions or seeking men to fill 
vacancies are invited to call on or correspond with, 

CHARLES P. RAYMOND 

(Raymond's Mill Employment Agency) 

294 Washington Street 
Boston, Mass. 



ADVERTISEMENT 

This 

Trade Marked 

PICKE^R 

W e have so much con- 
fidence in our raw hide 
loom pickers that we 
stamp our trade mark 
in the hide of each 
picker, and every pick- 
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depended upon to be 
as good in quality of 
material and workman- 
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produce. 

J^^^, Garland Mfg. Co. 

^ 1-r S SACO, MAINE 

^^^dc^^jsii^ Formerly Loom Picker Co. 
."^RaoE mAS^ Biddeford : : Maine 



ADVERTISEMENT 



CHARLES BOND COMPANY 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



Oak Leather Belting 




HICKORY PICKER STICKS 



H I C K O R V . 



SHAFTING, HANGERS, PULLEYS and 
TEXTILE MILL SUPPLIES. 



520 Arch Street, 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



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TEXTILE 

MANUFACTURERS 

JOURNAL 

A textile newspaper for mill of- 
ficials, agents and superintendents. 

It's aim is high. "It shoots over 
our heads", say some unambitious over- 
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WEEKLY $3.00 a year 

J. H. BRAGDON & CO. 

Publishers 

377 Broadway, New York 

BOSTON PHILADELPHIA 




"600" Rise and Fall Ma- 
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i "HRLTON" JACQUARD 

Acknowledged by all BEST MACHINE MADE. 




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73 Ui 



THOMAS H ALTON'S SONS 



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- - East of Front Street 



ADVERTISEMENT 



WOMEN'S WEAR 

The success of the DAILY TRADE RECORD 
in the men's Wear field has led some of its stockholders 
to establish a similar daily service for the women's 
wear lines. The DAILY TRADE RECORD has 
made its success catering business news and ideas. 
WOMEN'S WEAR will do the same. The exten- 
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offer WOMEN'S WEAR to the trade at the nom- 
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it caters. If you will ask for one on your letterhead it 
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WOMEN'S WEAR COMPANY 

42 East 21st street, New York City. 



WOMEN'S WEAR tells of new stores, business 
changes, fires, failures, market conditions, etc. Read 
it also for fashion notes and illustrations. 



A U V E R T I S E M E X T 



AIP^LEV'S PRACTICAL LOOMPIXINO 



A BOOK OF INSTRUCTION 
AND INFORMATION FOR 



L 



r 



WOOLEN AND WORSTED L OOMPiXERS 

A A A A 

AND ALL WHO HAVE ANY 

INTEREST IN THE WEAVE 

ROOM 



Contains 88 pages of solid, closely condensed matter of Instructions* 
Matter which it would take a good many years to find out by one's own 
experience. Cloth bound. 

Do you want to know more about your business? 

Do you want to be a more valuable man to your employer? 

Do you want to be more satisfied with your work? 

Then Read and Study This Book. 

Your ideas and knowledge may be as good as Ainley's but you will find 
them both improved by studying this book. 

A Loomfixer, like an Engineer or Physician must seek for knowledge 
other than that gained by his own experience. 

EMPLOYERS: — The study of this book will improve the production, 
increase the production and effect a saving in the cost of repairs. Read it 
through yourself and you will encourage your help to study it. 

Mailed to any address on receipt of $1.00, by 

ALBERT AINLEY 
50 Main Street, Mapleville, R. I. 

CAUTION: After 1912 please write and find out if this book is still avail- 
able before sending any money. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



CONTENTS OF 



AINLEY'S PRACTICAL LOOMFIXING 

(Woolen and Worsted) 



The Belt 

The Friction Pulley 

The Brake 

The Picking Motion 

Banging Off 

Throwing the Shuttle 
Crooked 

Shuttle Flying Out 

Pickerstick Rebounding 

Bobbin Splitting 

Screws Breaking in the 
Pickerstick 

The Shuttle Binder 

Filling Kinking 

Warp Kinking 

Position of the Whiproll 

Filling Cutting 

The Head motion 

The Oblong and Excen- 
tric Gears 

Setting the Excentric 
Gears 

Setting the Box Motion 

Resetting the Head- 
motion 

Setting the Chain Cylin- 
der 

Setting the Lock Knife 

Pickerstick Splitting 



Setting the Reverse Gears 
LevelUng up the Shuttle 

Boxes 
Box Jumping 
Bending the Box Rod 
Lining up a Lay End 
Putting in a Vibrator 

Comb 
Harness Skips 
Chain Drafting 
Putting on a new Picker 
Two Holes in the Picker 
Shuttles Chipping 
Shuttles Turning Over 
Fancy Shuttles Working 

Outward 
The Filling Stopmotion 
Broken Picks 
Feeler Wire Tearing 
Through the Cloth 
Weaving Soft Bobbins 
Yarn Slipping Off 
Setting the Temple 
Putting in a New Warp 
Uneven Weaving 
Handling Bad Warps 
Building up a Section 
Improving the Looms 
Odds and Ends 



ADVERTISEMENT 

TESTIMONIALS 

V 

Saint Johns, Okegon., 

April 27, 1907. 

"I like your new book better than the old one ; have 
learned many good points from it and my section is in 
much better shape than it was before I got your book." 

C. R. LITTLE. 

California, mo., 

April 20, 1907. 

"I received your book and was very much pleased with 
it. The information I found in it was of great help." 

GEO. HEIDEL. 

National and Providence Worsted Mills 

May 23, 1907. 

Mr. Albert Ainley, 

''After reading carefully through your book on ''Practical 
Loomfixing" I must say that it is the most complete work 
of instruction and information on Woolen and Worsted 
Loomfixing I have read for some time. No weaving over- 
seer or loomfixer should be without it as it is full of useful 
information and should prove to be of great value. It is 
worthy to be called the grammar of loomfixing. 

A. W. LOCKWOOD. 
Supt. 
"Mr Ainley is well known and his book is a good one." 

Fibre and Fabric. 



237 90 









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ECKMAN 

IDERY INC. 

§s. MAY 90 



N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 46962 







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